UCLA suffers last-minute Big Ten loss to Minnesota

PASADENA, Calif. — With 2:37 left on the clock, UCLA looked poised to have their first win of the season as they were ahead by just a field goal in the fourth quarter. 

But after failing to keep their offense on the field, they allowed Minnesota one more chance to take a back a lead they lost in the fourth quarter.

And they did.

Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer led his team downfield for 48 yards and finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to running back Darius Taylor Saturday night, giving the Gophers a 21-17 victory over the Bruins at the Rose Bowl leaving just 27 seconds on the clock.

UCLA and Purdue are now the only remaining Big Ten teams without a conference victory.  For the Bruins, they have dealt with one of the hardest schedules in college football and it will look to remain that way as they will play their next two games on the road at Rutgers and Nebraska. 

Still on the schedule: Iowa, Washington, USC and Fresno State.

Bruins quarterback Ethan Garbers and linebacker Carson Schwesinger both said the only way to stay positive is by staying hungry along the rest of the way.

“If anything, this will just motivate us even more because we are still hungry to get a win in the Big Ten," Garbers said. "This is just going to motivate us even more to work harder and keep this thing going.”

For the first half of the game, the Bruins (1-5, 0-4 Big Ten) seemed to have everything was going their way. Both the offense and defense were playing at a high level while enjoying a 10 point lead. 

After halftime, the Bruins ran out of gas and allowed the Gophers (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) to score on two straight drives. 

While their defense underperformed in the second half, the offense was just as bad as their first possession ended in a three and out. The second ended with quarterback Garbers throwing his second interception of the night to Minnesota's Koi Perich on the second play of the drive.

On the next Minnesota offensive possession they took a 14-10 lead over the Bruins. The Gophers were primed to finish the possession with a touchdown after Bruins defensive back Kaylin Moore drew a pass interference call in the endzone putting the Gophers four yards away from the endzone. 

After gaining 2 yards over the next two plays, Taylor finally broke through the Bruins defensive line for a 2-yard rushing touchdown.

"This is a tough loss. This one will sting a little bit," UCLA coach Deshaun Foster said. "We have not really played the way that we’d like to play in the Rose Bowl.

"It’s just unfortunate that we really only put one half together. Our guys are some resilient dudes, and we are going to continue to fight and it’s going to turn around.”

For the rest of the game, UCLA's defense seemed to recoup and refind their identity once again, forcing Minnesota to punt the ball on their next two drives.

UCLA's offense did the same midway through the fourth quarter as Garbers found his favorite target of the night J'Michael Sturdivant for a 42-yard touchdown pass with less then seven minutes remaining in the ball game.

Sturdivant was the Bruins leading receiver Saturday night earning his first seven catch performance since he transferred to the team from Cal last season. He finished the night with 107 yards and the lone touchdown.

"J-Mike was just getting open, it’s as simple as that. You get open, you get the ball," Garbers said. "He was doing a great job tonight. He made some fantastic catches, 

"I wish we could have gotten him the ball a bit more in the second half to start off the second half. But I’m super proud of how he played.”

Garbers who missed last week's game against Penn State with an injury seemed to have rediscovered his stride Saturday. Despite having two interceptions that came from a defender tipping a ball and another where a defender hit his arm as he was throwing, Garbers might've had his best game of the season, completing 25 of 38 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown

In the Bruins' first possession of the night, he led them down field on a 10-play drive where he went 5 for 6 with 54 yards, converting two third and longs for first downs. The possesion ended with running back Keegan Jones earning his second touchdown of the season from a one yard run up the middle.

Jones' touchdown in the first quarter was the first time this season the Bruins scored on their opening possession this season. Jones finished the night with just three rushing attempts, splitting time with both Jalen Berger and T.J. Harden. Berger was the lead back on Saturday with eight attempts for 20 yards.

In the first half, UCLA's defense did a great job stopping the Gophers' offense from getting anything going as they forced two straight possessions that ended on punts with three offensive plays ran. UCLA's defense had a total of three sacks. They were lead by Carson Schwesinger who had two sacks and 12 total tackles.

Schwesinger's most important sack of the game might've come just before halftime as Minnesota was driving the down the field and were 42 yards away from the end zone on a third and 2, he was able to break through the Gophers line and sack Brosmer for a nine yard loss.

“Coach Malloe gives everything for us so we want to give everything for him," Schwesinger said. "Every time we step on the field for the brothers, for our coaches, we want to be able to make plays and get a win."

Late in the second quarter, Garbers converted two first downs between three plays. The first came from a 13-yard reception to Titus Mokiao-Atimalala. The second was from a screen pass to Harden who dodged one defender and was able to turn up field for a 32-yard gain, putting the Bruins in position to get another score.

Garbers tried to connect with Sturdivant twice in the end zone for a touchdown but overthrew him both times. The Bruins ended up settling for a 34-yard field goal by kicker Mateen Bhaghani to give them a 10-0 lead. Bhaghani now has 10 field goals on the season.

After allowing Minnesota to score on their first two drives of the third quarter and letting them take a late lead, the Bruins were looking for a miracle. Garbers last throw of the night came on a hail mary attempt that gave him his third interception of the night. He now has nine interceptions on the season.